3 days of jail and still aggressive hen

[HappyTLee]

Hi, first post here. I have been reading all your advice on raising hens, and so far success. But, I've got a tricky lady who keeps going broody and has now started to be aggressive toward her BFF. We have had jail up for three days and still no signs of letting up. This morning we tried to let them all out, see if maybe her 3 nights alone had broken it, but nope she headed straight for the one she's bullying. We have a total of 4, two Browns and these other two fighting lay Easter eggs. The aggressor has drawn blood every day, this afternoon we didn't see but the one being hurt went up to the hen in jail and they went after it through the fence. I think the bully is sick but still stronger than the other to draw blood? The one being bullied has a lot of feathers missing at the neck as well, so an indicator of a longer problem? The hen getting bullied is being cared for by our 2 browns. They are safely separated at night and 80% of the day when we have 3 free and 1 in jail, but I can't be there every second. Help! Advice? Seems like I might have a prisioner for a few more days...
Cheers, Tarin

 

[Crazy Maizie]

Maybe try pinless peepers.

Not my image:

 

[rosemarythyme]

Broodies can take longer than 3 days to break, that's just the average. I don't let them stay out of the breaker until they're broken, even if that means 5-7 days or more.

 

[aart]

Hi, first post here. I have been reading all your advice on raising hens, and so far success. But, I've got a tricky lady who keeps going broody and has now started to be aggressive toward her BFF. We have had jail up for three days and still no signs of letting up. This morning we tried to let them all out, see if maybe her 3 nights alone had broken it, but nope she headed straight for the one she's bullying. We have a total of 4, two Browns and these other two fighting lay Easter eggs. The aggressor has drawn blood every day, this afternoon we didn't see but the one being hurt went up to the hen in jail and they went after it through the fence. I think the bully is sick but still stronger than the other to draw blood? The one being bullied has a lot of feathers missing at the neck as well, so an indicator of a longer problem? The hen getting bullied is being cared for by our 2 browns. They are safely separated at night and 80% of the day when we have 3 free and 1 in jail, but I can't be there every second. Help! Advice? Seems like I might have a prisioner for a few more days...
Cheers, Tarin

I'm confused......you are jailing to break broodiness or because of the fighting?

How old are these birds, in weeks or months...and have they all grown up together?

How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @HappyTLee
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[HappyTLee]

Maybe try pinless peepers.

Not my image:

View attachment 2779761

I didn't know this was a thing, I love the idea. I doubt there is a product like that near me. I am living in the mountains of Costa Rica. Thanks!

 

[Crazy Maizie]

I didn't know this was a thing, I love the idea. I doubt there is a product like that near me. I am living in the mountains of Costa Rica. Thanks!

You can get them online.

 

[HappyTLee]

Broodies can take longer than 3 days to break, that's just the average. I don't let them stay out of the breaker until they're broken, even if that means 5-7 days or more.

Okay, goodness they can be stubborn. Thanks for the advice, she's back in and will stay in for a few more days I think.

 

[HappyTLee]

I'm confused......you are jailing to break broodiness or because of the fighting?

How old are these birds, in weeks or months...and have they all grown up together?

How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @HappyTLee
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!
View attachment 2780252

Hi, thanks for your response and further questions. All are valid, I live in the mountains of Costa Rica, very humid, tropical and rarely cold (below 70F) However, right now is our winter or we call it the green season, because it's always raining and everything is green. The sun is also very North, so our amount of light and strength is very little. We just had a major storm and they have been cooped up for longer periods of time. Which are all factors I am taking into consideration.

Our hens have been together for 5 months total. The 2 Browns we've had since October, and the Easter Egg layers and bully/vitcim are Mezclita and Negrita. They were introduced to the clan in February, we built a separate pen for them and they all shared a fence for 3-4 days before coming together, and they all enjoy each other's company. Unfortunately, no clue on age of any of them, this is our first go and we really are winging it. I am doing research as it comes. Apparently, learning their age for egg production is an important question! One of our brown hens hasn't layed since our first month with her... Aka she's old!

Mezclita had layed an egg just prior to my first observation of an attack, but she was also spending a lot of time in the box on other eggs. So, we had been monitoring her closely and kicking her out of the nesting box multiple times a day, before closing it off. She was not in jail for broody.

We built an 8'Lx4'Wx4'H box that is their coop, run, house, nesting area all in one; with the hope of more free range, but our hens enjoy our patio more than foraging for goodies, which means extra poop scooping. we need to build a bigger protected area/run because without a rooster, the jungle has already taken 2 of our hens... Again, still learning all of this and in my unique elements.

Thanks for your help and advice!

 

[HappyTLee]

Okay, goodness they can be stubborn. Thanks for the advice, she's back in and will stay in for a few more days I think.

Hi, first post here. I have been reading all your advice on raising hens, and so far success. But, I've got a tricky lady who keeps going broody and has now started to be aggressive toward her BFF. We have had jail up for three days and still no signs of letting up. This morning we tried to let them all out, see if maybe her 3 nights alone had broken it, but nope she headed straight for the one she's bullying. We have a total of 4, two Browns and these other two fighting lay Easter eggs. The aggressor has drawn blood every day, this afternoon we didn't see but the one being hurt went up to the hen in jail and they went after it through the fence. I think the bully is sick but still stronger than the other to draw blood? The one being bullied has a lot of feathers missing at the neck as well, so an indicator of a longer problem? The hen getting bullied is being cared for by our 2 browns. They are safely separated at night and 80% of the day when we have 3 free and 1 in jail, but I can't be there every second. Help! Advice? Seems like I might have a prisioner for a few more days...
Cheers, Tarin

Update: I am not sure if this is the place to put an update, but after someone commented that an agressive hen could take 5-7 days or more, I realized she needed more time to herself. We went 7 days and nights of isolation and it broke her. It was hard on my to know she was alone, but the fighting was worse. Everyone is happy and back together. Thanks for all your support and time for commenting.

 

[aart]

I am not sure if this is the place to put an update

It's the perfect place.
Always good to update a thread you started about a certain issue.